Aquascape : Planted-aquarium shape, size and spot
Either you buy an already-made aquarium or a tailor-made aquarium, you should consider the followings:
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High-height will make difficulties in decorating and maintaning your planted aquarium, especially to reach the aquarium bottom.
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You'll need higher intensity lamps to penetrate water, it means bigger wattage & inefficient.
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Deeper water + narrow surface make difficulties in gas exchange -lack of oxygen will stress your fishes & other organisms- especially in a planted aquarium where the surface agitation is limited to keep the CO2 inside.
Size of your Planted aquarium
In the aquascape world, there's a term 'bigger is better'. The term is valid for several reasons:
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More space makes easier to arrange decorations, hide equipments, and plant more aquarium plants.
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More water volume gives a bigger tolerance towards shift in water parameters, big & sudden changes in parameters -such as ammonia, nitrite, pH or temperature- can kill your organisms. For example, a dead fish which unnoticed in a large aquarium will be disposed by bacteria without any significant effects on other organisms or the water quality. In a small aquarium, it can be a disaster.
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More water volume that provides a reasonably stable environment for the organisms, also gives you more interval time in regular water change.
Where to put your Planted aquarium?
As a part of aquascape planning, an aquarium spot should be carefully considered first. After you decorate and fill your aquarium with water, it will be very difficult to move it even for a few distance.
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Select a spot which is furthest from a window, where the planted aquarium won't get any direct sunlight as possible. Direct sunlight will raise the water temperatures up, sometimes above 30°C, this condition makes freshwater aquarium plants and fishes unhealthy. It's true that rivers and lakes get 12 hours direct sunlight a day, but they have shaded spots, big water volumes and also get continuous freshwater supply from mountain springs- all of that make the water temperatures stable and remain cold. Algae growth is also an important issue here, some wavelengths from sunshine containing red spectrum that promotes algae growth, so put your planted aquarium at a shaded spot where it won't expose directly to the sun.
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Electrical connections. The selected spot should have an electrical power switch or an easy access to power. It would be better if there's a control panel inside your aquarium cabinet, consisting 4-5 electrical connections. Use high standard cables (diameter sizes : 3x1.5 or 3x2.5 mm) especially for equipments that need high wattages (such as aquarium lamps, aquarium chiller), small diameter cables can get easily hot & burned-out! It is important to turn-off all your submersible equipments (such as submersible pumps, aquarium heater) before you dip your hands into the water, aquarium water can contain an electric current if there's an electric-leak within the submersible equipments.
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Water source and water disposal. The selected spot should also be conveniently located for daily water addition or regular water changes.
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The ceiling. You shouldn't choose the spot which has too low ceiling. It can limit your movement when maintaning your tank, it can cause difficulties for hanging lamps (difficult to make an appropriate distance between lamps and water's surface), and also slows down the gas exchange process.
Finally, you should plan your planted aquarium well in advance, from matching the available space with your chosen aquarium size, until selecting the best spot for it. A neat and clean appearance of a well-planned planted aquarium can be a fascinating decorative feature for your favourite room.
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